Each week, NWPE brings its members a round-up of what’s happening in education. From big, eye-catching headlines to the stories most papers overlook, AAE finds the news our members really want to see. This week, Charlottesville reactions, a major shift in attitudes towards Charters, and more!

Annual Education Reform Survey Released: This week, the education journal, Education Next, released their annual survey of attitudes towards education issues. The survey is taken by a scientifically representative sample of teachers, parents, and community members. Key findings included a large drop in support for charter schools, polarization on education positions taken by the president, and a lack of support for agency fees (including among teachers).

Rock Musician Compares Lack of Music Education to Child Abuse: Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea spoke out this week about attempts to cut music education programs in public schools, calling it “child abuse.” Flea has been a long-time supporter of arts education, founding the Silverlake Conservatory of Music to provide students with affordable music lessons.

Small School Districts Lag Academically: A study out of Indiana finds that the state’s smaller school districts do not perform as well as larger, consolidated districts. Smaller districts were found to struggle with offering advanced courses and hiring teachers in specialized subjects, leading to a 20 point difference in SAT scores. The study recommends that districts with less than 2,000 students seek to merge and form larger districts. That recommendation would affect over half of the state’s school districts.